| How to be SunSmart
- slip, slop, slap and wrap
Skin Cancer in NZ - some facts
Types of skin cancers
The Costs of Skin Cancer to New Zealand
Use of estimates for evaluating
preventative campaigns
How Skin works
The Ozone Layer
Solaria Positioning Statement for
Australasia
What is MED (Minimal Eyrthemal Dose)?
Shade
NZ Cancer Control Strategy
Ministry of Health Cancer Register
Maori and Skin Cancer
Vitamin D Position Statement |
 |
|
Solaria Positioning
Statement for Australasia
All forms of ultraviolet radiation contribute to skin cancer1, and a
solarium tan is induced by ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, The Australasian
College of Dermatologists, The Cancer Council Australia and its affiliated
member organisations and the Cancer Society of New Zealand do not support
cosmetic tanning in solariums under any circumstance.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The general public be informed of the risks associated with solarium
use.
2. State and national governments be encouraged to consider the implementation
of legislation to: ensure customers are adequately informed of the health
risks; ban unsupervised solariums; and enforce age restrictions according
to the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS2636:2002.
INTRODUCTION
The desire to acquire a tan for fashion or cosmetic purposes has led to
the development of a large solarium industry in Australia and New Zealand.
Solariums emit ultraviolet UV-A and UV-B radiation, both known causes
of skin cancer. In general, solariums predominantly emit UV-A, however
in recent years, solariums have been manufactured to produce higher levels
of UV-B to mimic the solar spectrum and higher levels of UV radiation
intensity to speed the tanning process. There is good evidence to suggest
that a small dose of UV-B used in conjunction with the high dose of UV-A
as used in solariums is a cause of skin cancer.
Overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and artificial
sources is of considerable public health concern. UV radiation plays an
important role in the development of skin cancer, cataracts and other
eye conditions, and suppresses the immune system. Cumulative UV radiation
also results in premature skin ageing. For this reason, The Cancer Council
Australia, the Cancer Society of New Zealand and the Australasian College
of Dermatologists does not recommend the use of UV tanning devices for
cosmetic purposes.
It is recognised however, that while solariums continue to be available
to the public, there is a need for guidelines to reduce the risks associated
with their use.
THE
ASSOCIATION OF SOLARIUM USE WITH SKIN CANCER, SKIN AGEING AND EYE DAMAGE
Adverse health affects associated with sun exposure such as skin cancer
and premature skin ageing have been well documented in international and
national reports (NRPB 20021, IARC 19922 and WHO 19943) and peer reviewed
medical journals.
All forms of ultraviolet radiation contribute to skin cancer1, and a
solarium tan is induced by ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, The Australasian
College of Dermatologists, The Cancer Council Australia and its affiliated
member organisations and the Cancer Society of New Zealand do not support
cosmetic tanning in solariums under any circumstance.
The relationship however between solarium exposure and adverse health
effects are documented below.
Skin
cancers
It is not always easy to implicate artificial tanning devices as a primary
cause of skin cancer. There is increasing evidence however from both experimental
and epidemiological data that cumulative exposure to UV radiation increases
the risk of skin cancers. Therefore the added exposure from UV radiation
tanning appliances such as solariums is likely to add to the well-known
detrimental consequences of natural solar exposure4. There is no evidence
to suggest that any type of solarium is less harmful than natural sun
exposure.
Those who will be at the highest risk of skin cancer later in life are
people who have fair skin which always burns and never tans,5,6 and those
under the age of 15 who have received large doses of ultraviolet radiation7.
As per the Australasian Standard, it is recommended therefore that those
under the age of 15 be banned from solariums and those aged 15 to 18 use
a solarium only with parental consent.
Pre-cancerous actinic keratoses and Bowen’s disease have also been
reported in the sunlight-protected but solarium-exposed skin of fair-skinned
users after just two to three years of regular solarium use.
Skin
ageing
Ultraviolet light such as from a solarium causes premature ageing of the
skin. This may be evident as increased skin wrinkling, irregular pigmentation
and altered skin texture (photoageing)9,10,11,12. Photoageing includes
wrinkling and loss of skin elasticity. It is generally irreversible without
cosmetic surgery.
Eye
damage
Acute effects of UV radiation on the eye include photokeratitis (inflammation
of the cornea and the iris), and photoconjunctivitis (an inflammation
of the conjunctiva, the membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids
and white of the eye). Long-term effects of UV radiation exposure of the
eye may include the development of cataracts, pterygium (white or creamy
opaque growth attached to the cornea), and squamous cell cancer of the
conjunctiva.
OTHER
FACTORS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO SOLARIUM USERS
• No solarium can give a safe tan13.
• Artificial ultraviolet radiation exposure such as from a solarium
is not necessary for optimal vitamin D production in Australia or New
Zealand14.
• Solariums may emit much higher concentrations of ultraviolet radiation
than the sun15.
• The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has
issued a finding that all solarium operators have a duty of care to ensure
solarium patrons are aware of the above risks involved with solarium use.
May
2003
REFERENCES
1 NRPB. Health Effects from Ultraviolet Radiation. National Radiological
Protection Board. Vol 13, No 1. 2002
2 IARC. Solar and ultraviolet radiation. International Agency for Research
on Cancer. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk to Humans.
Volume 55 Lyon 1992
3 World Health Organization. WHO Environmental Health Criteria 160. Ultraviolet
radiation Geneva. World Health Organization; 1994
4 Autier P. Issues on Solaria in Hill D, Elwood M, English D. (eds) Prevention
of Skin Cancer. Klewer USA 2002 (in press)
5 McGinley, J., Martin, C., Mackie, R. (1998). Sunbeds in current use
in Scotland: a survey of their output and patterns of use. British Journal
of Dermatology, 139: 428-438
6 Shuttleworth, D. (1993). Sunbeds and the pursuit of the year round tan.
British Medical Journal, 307: 1508-1509
7 Holman, C. D. J. and B. K. Armstrong (1984). Cutaneous malignant melanoma
and indicators of total accumulated exposure to the sun: an analysis separating
histogenetic types. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 73: 75-82.
8 Speight EL, Dahl M, Farr P. Actinic Keratoses Induced by Sunbed. Br
Med J 308. 415 1994 quoted in Hawk J. Sunbeds. Radiation Protection Dosimetry.
Vol 9, Nos 1-3, pp143-145. 2000
9 Shuttleworth, D. (1993). Sunbeds and the pursuit of the year round tan.
British Medical Journal, 307: 1508-1509
10 Hawk J. Sunbeds. Radiation Protection Dosimetry. Vol 9, Nos 1-3, pp143-145.
2000
11 World Health Organization. WHO Environmental Health Criteria 160. Ultraviolet
radiation Geneva. World Health Organization; 1994
12 Lavker RM, Veres DA, Irwin CJ, Kaidbey KH. Cumulative effects from
repeated exposures to suberythemal doses of UVB and UVA in human skin.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 32, 53, 1995.
13 National Health and Medical Research Council. (2002). ‘Suntanning
parlours, solaria, home tanning equipment’ (position statement-
revised). http://www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/
14 Marks, R., Foley, PA., Jolley, D., Knight, KR., Harrison, J., Thompson,
SC. (1995). The effect of regular sunscreen use on vitamin D levels in
an Australian population. Results of a randomized controlled trial. Archives
of Dermatology, 131(4): 415-421.
15 Walter, D., Marrett, L., From, L., Hertzman, C., Shannon, H., Roy,
P. (1990) The association of cutaneous malignant melanoma with the use
of sunbeds and sunlamps. American Journal of Epidemiology, 131 (2): 232-243
|
